December 18 - Headed up to Wamena!
Wamena Airport
Loaded up and heading to Heberima! We met a church member on the way who was out of gas. So we had a quick pit-stop to lend a helping hand.
Years ago, there was a massive land slide which totally destroyed miles of this beautiful landscape. If you look closely you can see where the mountain side gave way.
Looking down the last hill up to Heberima...
On arriving in the village we were met with a Bakar Batu (Burnt Rocks). Basically, it's a communal feast of Ubi, jungle veggies, and sometimes meat all prepared on a bed of extremely hot rocks.
On the first day in Heberima, some went directly to the job site while others were tasked with getting the kitchen, food, and drinkable water in order (I was in the kitchen crew). We were taken down to a well that a major bank had built; it was beside a gorgeous river and so we washed our veggies in the frigid water.
Going and coming from the well we had to cross a prayer bridge. And by that I mean we were praying the entire way across.
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| Why fix a hole when you can just add smaller pieces of wood? |
Laundry Day! A few times I was on laundry duty, which included Christmas Day. We would have to hike down to the river which was only about 1/4 of a mile. But it was extremely hilly and at one point we had to slide down a rock face. This is also where we would come to bathe in the evenings. The water flowed down from high up in the mountains, so it was cold. No, actually it was frigid! And when it rained the current would become so swift we would literally have to hold onto each other so we wouldn't get swept down stream.
There was a small pipe that jutted out of the rocks where the locals would get their drinking water. It was just as cold as the river though.
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| The village washing machine! |
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| Our lovely dryer |
Enjoy some glimpses of Heberima's beauty!
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| Our colorful district office "home" |
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| Looking up to the higher peaks |
Remember those massive boulders I talked about? The locals built a nice bonfire. We all stood around sipping hot drinks and watching the kids play with the extra tires when suddenly a man walked up to the job site holding a snake! The adults would not go near the man, and the kids would scream when ever he got to close. Not sure what type it was, but he said it was nonvenomous so of course we wanted to hold it!
On Saturday afternoon we decided to go for a hike. I was under the impression that we were hiking to a salt water lake high up in the mountains. With great enthusiasm I followed our guides. We weaved through many traditional honais (wood/bamboo huts with a grass roof), and between large terraced gardens. After a while we arrived at the salt water lake! ...
Well actually it was more like a salt water spring (about 3ft across and 8ft long). Not exactly what I had envisioned. Looking around we asked each other, so is this it? Yup. That was the "lake" we had come to see. Soon our guides mentioned a waterfall. So some of our group took off in search of the waterfall that we could actually hear from the spring but couldn't see.
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| Tedious river crossings. Go Natalie! |
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| Jordan, Seth, and Steven |
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| L-R: Nick, Jordan, Paige, KD, Natalie, Frida, Steven, unkown |
Every day I took a picture of the job site. So here is a makeshift time lapse of our progress.
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| Day 1 - Monday Dec. 19 |
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| Day 2 |
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| Day 3 |
Day 4 - Thursday, Dec. 22: Erin and I went into Wamena for a much needed market run. The only ride to the market was with one of the tribe leaders. He was the only person for miles who owned a car. So of course, our ride was extremely cramped as many people wanted to go sell and buy things in Wamena. To make matters more uncomfortable it was pouring rain. But on the plus side, I was able to finally get into cell range and make a Merry Christmas phone call home! After, getting to the markets (about an hours drive from Heberima) our ride told us he could not take us back up to the village. Erin and I looked at each other and tried to think hard of what to do. We were now stuck in Wamena, and no one in Heberima had cell service. Thankfully, Erin contacted a local pastor who happened to be picking up the rest of the Boyd family at the airport later that afternoon. We eventually made it back to the village, just wasn't in our timing. So I did not manage to get a photo that day.
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| Day 5 (different angle) |
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| Day 5 |
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| Day 6 - Christmas Day |
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| Day 6 |
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| Day 7 |
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| Day 7 |
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| Day 8 |
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| Day 9 - Finally going vertical! |
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| Day 10 |
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| Day 10 |
In the distance you can see our Kuda-Kuda (scaffolding). It was as scary as it looks! Adding the trusses on was probably the scariest part of the entire trip. We first had to carry the large scissor trusses up to the job site.
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| PC: Nathaniel Boyd |
Then the guys had to walk the trusses up these small planks of wood. Add on the fact that they were extremely wobbly and slippery from the misty rain we had that morning.
Once the trusses were up on the metal frame we had to slide them across to where we would stand them up. The people up on the church's sides would pull and push while the people on the ground would give the middle added support.
When the trusses were finally shimmied the entire way we would raise them up. But to ensure that they were the correct distance from the other trusses someone had to spider up between them, measure, and screw in added support. Obviously OSHA doesn't exist here, so instead there were lot of silent prayers being lifted up.
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| Go Sarah go! |
We worked as hard and as long as the weather would permit. Unfortunately, heavy rain set in and forced us off our treacherous perches. Thursday, December 29, was our last day in the village. We had to leave unfinished, but Darron's seminary students had already arranged to stay and finish.
As we waited in the rain for our ride back to Wamena, we couldn't help but take a few selfies, and reminisce about the week's crazy adventures.
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| I promise we're having fun |
Even though we didn't finish as much as I had hoped, we all left with smiles and full hearts. Until next time Heberima.
Well actually it was more like a salt water spring (about 3ft across and 8ft long). Not exactly what I had envisioned. Looking around we asked each other, so is this it? Yup. That was the "lake" we had come to see. Soon our guides mentioned a waterfall. So some of our group took off in search of the waterfall that we could actually hear from the spring but couldn't see. 
